


A Date to Remember

by lilmaeval



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Character Study, Fluff, Gen, Ran Nagisa Birthday 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:49:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27200689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilmaeval/pseuds/lilmaeval
Summary: Nagisa wakes up one morning to find his roommates acting strangely. Kind and generous, and yet Nagisa can't discern the reason why.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	A Date to Remember

“Aniki, that’s a lot of chocolate chips. Will that even taste alright?”

“You asked for my help, didn’t you, Yuuta-kun? I promise, he’s gonna love it!”

“Hey, hey, you two~ You gotta be quiet. Ran-kun’s doing the nose flaring thingy, he’s gonna wake up any second.”

Just as the words were spoken into the air, red eyes opened themselves to a new day as Nagisa sat himself up in bed. Greeting him was an unusual sight: Kaoru and Yuuta, along with Hinata, were all standing at the foot of Nagisa’s bed with a breakfast tray in the older twin’s grasp. Upon seeing the white haired man awaken, smiles formed on all their faces as they quickly approached him.

“Congratulations!” They all shouted, leaving Nagisa stunned for a moment and only snapped out of it when he noticed the tray sat at his lap. Down below was a stack of chocolate chip pancakes and a glass of milk, which was distinctly not chocolate.

“...Is this for me?” Nagisa asked to clarify, tilting his head.

“Yep, yep!” Hinata grinned. “Yuuta-kun asked me for help, so I happily obliged! Not just because he’s my little brother though, but also because it’s for you, Ran-senpai! Thank you very much for always taking care of my Yuuta-kun~”

“Hey, hey, you’re gonna take a bite, right?” Yuuta asked, staring hard at the plate before the senior.

“You’re acting like you’re the one who made it,” Kaoru remarked with a half chuckle, sitting himself on the side of the bed.

“I commissioned it!” Yuuta pouted before softening as he pressed his index fingers together. “Er, well, I know Ran-senpai likes chocolates, and I’m not so good with picking out sweets, so I thought getting you something made by Aniki might be nice.”

“...Thank you, Yuuta-kun,” Nagisa offered the younger twin a smile before looking back down at the breakfast before him. “...I’m looking forward to eating it...Would you please remind me to let Ibara know that I did?...I know he’ll be upset if I eat something like this without letting him know.”

“Oh, actually,” Kaoru reached over to the bedside table and pulled Nagisa's phone from it’s charger, handing it over to its owner. “It looks like Saegusa-kun already sent you a free pass from your diet today. Ah~ I hope you don’t think it’s creepy that I looked at your phone! Really, really, I was trying to make sure you didn’t wake up and put it on mute after I heard the message noise, and I just so happened to see it then.”

“...I wasn’t accusing you,” Nagisa responded blankly.

“Ah~! It makes me feel even creepier bringing it up then!!” Kaoru whined before dropping the phone altogether. Nagisa caught it before it hit the bedsheet and confirmed the man’s words for himself. Ibara’s message was rather strange; a congratulations once more, along with the aforementioned lift from his diet. What brought that upon?

“Uuu, now  _ I’m _ anxious for you to eat too,” Hinata murmured as he wrung his hands together. “Ah, I know, it’s gonna get cold if you let it sit like that!”

“...That’s true,” Nagisa agreed before picking up his fork and knife. Discerning what he was being congratulated for could wait until after he was done eating. “...Thank you again, you two.” Placing the pancake-carrying fork in his mouth, Nagisa’s eyes widened for a moment before he furrowed his brow and went for another piece.

“Woah!” Hinata awed. “He’s got a seriously fierce expression, but he’s going for more. Does that mean he likes it?”

“Sure does,” Yuuta confirmed with a nod, “give Ran-senpai something he likes and he’ll eat it all in one go. I guess I shouldn’t have doubted you this time, Aniki.”

“I’d appreciate it if you stopped doubting me all the time,” Hinata let out an awkward laugh, leaving Nagisa to continue eating without interruption. That was until a box was placed on the right of his tray, adorned in pretty gift wrapping paper and a ribbon.

“You don’t have to open that now,” Kaoru held up his hands to his chest and flashed Nagisa a reassuring grin, “but I just wanted to give it to you now.”

“...I’ll open it, then,” Nagisa stated before carefully undoing the ribbon and picking apart the wrapping paper fold by fold. Once freed, he was greeted with a sight that surprised him. “...This is--”

“Yeah, I know~” Kaoru wore a satisfied smirk as he leaned across the bed. “It’s that book you were looking for that wasn’t in the library. Aoba-kun and I went on a biiiig search together and eventually managed to get a personal copy of it, just for you! Think of it as a gift from the both of us. Oh, that reminds me! Suou-kun and Haijime-kun, they got things for you too.”

Kaoru sat up and stretched himself to pull at a box laying underneath his bed, pulling out two more presents. He presented them to Nagisa, who opened them one at a time. A luxurious tea brand from England laid in one, while Swiss chocolates were in the other. Knowing what little he did about his fellow Biblion members, Nagisa couldn’t help but find the gifts both fitting and incredibly appreciated.

“...These are great,” Nagisa hummed, “I’ll be sure to bring these to the next meeting...I’d like to share these with everyone there.”

“They’re presents, you know,” Kaoru reminded with a chuckle. “Eh, I’m sure both of them would love to get a chance to share anyway. Maybe that’s even the best way to enjoy them? I swear, our circle can sometimes be mistaken for the sweets fan club, huh?”

“Speaking of, Aniki, why did you never join that club anyway? It seems right up your alley.”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m sweet enough, Yuuta-kun~”

“...May I ask something?”

Everyone turned their attention to Nagisa in an instant, something Nagisa wasn’t used to. His quiet voice was often overshadowed by those who were already in discussion, so to have everyone so attentive was a little bizarre, just like this whole morning really. Feeling the pressure in a way he normally didn’t, Nagisa clasped his hands at the base of the breakfast tray.

“What is it, Ran-kun?” Kaoru inquired. “You look a little worried, is something up?”

“...I’m not worried,” Nagisa shook his head, “rather, I’m confused...I appreciate the ways in which you have all been treating me today, but I don’t exactly understand why.”

The group at the end of the bed stood silent and shared a brief exchange of glances, all before returning to look at Nagisa once more.

“I’m speaking mostly for myself here,” Kaoru announced, “but you’re free to agree if you like, Yuuta-kun. You’re not just a roommate to us, you know. You’re our friend, Ran-kun. We’re happy to share our dorm with you, and it’s been really nice getting to learn about someone who I never really got the chance to understand before now. You’re an interesting guy, and even if you zone off a lot, you’re also a pretty good listener when we’re having chats. It only feels right to give back.”

“Now I’ll speak for me and Aniki,” Yuuta proclaimed with a puff of his chest. “Ran-senpai’s been super kind to us ever since the Vice Prez took us into CosPro, and more than that you treat us like respectable idols too. Coming from you, Ran-senpai, it means a lot. We wanted to give back that respect in some way, so celebrating today is just one of the ways we can do that!”

Nagisa blinked a few times, taking a moment to discern the meaning before the words before accepting that he just didn’t understand. The only solution left was to ask once more.

“...I appreciate your words,” Nagisa began, “although I must admit I still don’t quite know why exactly you chose today to celebrate...Did you all just agree that Christmas was too far away?”

“Eh?” Hinata was the first to verbalize his own befuddlement before letting out a strained laugh. “Uh, whaddya mean, Ran-senpai? We’ve got a reason to celebrate today, don’t we?”

“...Do we?” Nagisa returned the question.

“Ran-kun?” Kaoru was the next to inquire. “Hey, you’re kidding, right? You know what today is, don’t you?”

Nagisa furrowed his brow and picked up his phone. The device still silenced, he hadn’t noticed the amount of messages he’d received through Wholehands. All of them had some variation of “congratulations,” and a few with an acronym that Nagisa knew but couldn’t quite place. Lifting his gaze above them all, he placed his eyes on the date and studied it carefully. Suddenly, everything clicked.

“...Oh,” Nagisa remarked, “it’s that day.”

“It’s  _ that _ day?!”

-

“To think of all the days that Nagisa-kun could forget, it would be this one. What foul weather!”

“Ohii-san, I’m sure Nagi-senpai didn’t mean it. He seemed pretty hesitant to tell you, in any case.”

“Your excellency! As this is how you wish to perceive your character, ought we to include this in your lore that you could not recall your own birthday, or would you rather we leave this on the cutting room floor?”

The voices of Nagisa’s Eden spoke over each other, all vying for his and each other’s attention in a way that they normally did. Even so, he felt a warmth in his heart as he watched them all sitting amongst one another; certainly, they were better as their full unit rather than split off into their subunits. At the very least, he was happier to celebrate with all of them rather than in separate pairings. What they were celebrating, however, Nagisa still wasn’t certain.

“...I didn’t know it was my birthday because I don’t know when that is,” Nagisa answered truthfully. “...Today is the day when I first met Hiyori-kun, nine years ago...Just as well, it’s been nine years since Father died...We’ve all come a long way since then, haven‘t we?”

Hiyori curled himself around Nagisa’s arm, balancing a glass of mineral water in his free hand. He took a sip from it and then rested his head on his childhood friend’s shoulder, out of sight for Nagisa to see the other’s expression.

“Yes, yes~ We certainly have,” Hiyori agreed, “soon there’ll be a day where you’ve been human longer than you were with him. Maybe that time has already passed too! We’ll at least be able to know for certain next year. Ah, maybe that one will be the date I finally feel at peace about this day~”

“...I hope so,” Nagisa concurred.

“Um, hey, Nagi-senpai,” Jun joined his seniors on the couch and sat next to Nagisa on his other side, giving the senior a few inches of space. “Is what you said just now true? You don’t even know your own birthday?”

“...That’s right,” Nagisa answered.

“I have done my own research,” Ibara stated as he sat across from the other three on an arm chair, looking down at the tablet he held in his hands. “It appears as though his excellency’s date of birth is unknowable, seeing as we have been unsuccessful in discerning his very origins. Without a birth certificate, knowing if Ran Nagisa is even his excellency’s true name is a mystery. As such, we must use what information we can to build an image that his excellency has always been part of society, even if that data is technically falsified.”

“I ask you to refrain from treating this day like it’s a placeholder, viper,” Hiyori scoffed. “Just as well, I’ve been trying to get this date recognized as Nagisa-kun’s birthday for years. I suppose it’s a difficult task to undertake, seeing as how it was only last year that we were able to celebrate with more than just me and him. Well, Tsumugi-kun  _ did _ get him those gifts last year and the year before, but that hardly counts as sharing the day together. That’s most important, don’t you agree, Nagisa-kun?”

“...I appreciated the thought all the same,” Nagisa denied, “rather, I had never had anyone treat today like that before, so I was a bit surprised...Last year too, I wasn’t sure what to think, and Ibara kept shuffling through so many scripts that we ended up having a private get-together rather than a public appearance...I remember him sulking about it for a few days after.”

“Which is precisely why I made sure to not repeat the same mistake,” Ibara interrupted. “By putting today’s date on the birthday calendar, it ensures that everyone is already expecting a celebration. There’s no need to worry about preparing a script, because all his excellency has to do is thank everyone for their kindness. Even ‘forgetting’ his birthday fits in line with his excellency’s poor memory that often causes him to break character. It’s a foolproof plan!”

“I think you could have at least told him, though~” Jun retorted as he crossed his legs and placed his arms on the back of the couch. “Anyone would be confused if someone just started giving them presents and saying congratulations out of nowhere. I would know, I wasn’t expecting that whole big spectacle you threw together for my birthday.”

“That’s even worse!” Hiyori cried out as he lifted his head from Nagisa’s shoulder to glare at the junior. “It’s your  _ actual _ known date of birth, why should it not be celebrated properly like one? What a pathetic life you’ve lived, all up until you met me that is.”

“Guess that’s true, Ohii-san,” Jun shrugged, “but I dunno why you sound like you’re scolding me while lamenting on my behalf. Thanks, I guess? I’ll try to not be as surprised next year.”

“...Mm, I’ll do the same,” Nagisa vowed, “I feel bad about not understanding everyone’s wishes.”

“Having some level of shock is expected though,” Ibara argued, not looking away from his tablet, “rather, it makes for good promotion if the surprise on your faces is genuine. Keeping the date in mind is well and good, but keep your expectations low so we may have an easier time of surpassing them.”

“What an awful thing to say,” Hiyori huffed, “no, we ought to raise the bar every year! Cheap tricks like that won’t do, and I won’t allow you to provide anything less than perfect for my Nagisa-kun! And Jun-kun, I suppose, although he gets a lot out of just my mere presence~”

“Wow, I feel so honored,” Jun drawled before turning his attention back to Nagisa. “Anyway, Nagi-senpai, how do you feel about us using today as your birthday anyway? I feel bad now that I know we just assumed you would get it.”

“...I don’t mind it all,” Nagisa answered, “in fact, it’s pretty fitting...I didn’t become alive until I met Hiyori-kun, so if anything, I really was born as a human being on this day.”

“As was I,” Hiyori added as he laid against Nagisa with his dreamy gaze on the man above. “I had no purpose until I met Nagisa-kun, that’s why this day is so important to me. You’re so forgetful, but I’m glad to know I’m wrong about you not remembering this day at all.”

“...I could never,” Nagisa claimed as he took Hiyori’s hand, “just as how I could never forget you, my sun...Nn, though now that I think about it, I did find it odd that you never asked me about what you wanted to do with me today...The only times I’ve never celebrated it with you was the two years we spent apart when I was with my foster family.”

“That’s right,” Hiyori concurred with a heavy sigh, “and those people wouldn’t even recognize how special the date was! They didn’t hold a birthday for you period, not even the day that you moved into their home! I love my family dearly, but I’ll never understand why they moved you into such an uncaring environment.”

“Mm, I guess the difference is one place had Ohii-san and the other didn’t, huh? Other than that, they don’t sound all that dissimilar.”

“What did you say, Jun-kun?”

“Nothin’, I’m just talking to myself.”

“...Home was a difficult word to grasp,” Nagisa stated, “for a very long time, at least...Rather than home, I ‘belonged’ to Father and was placed inside his house...Then I met Hiyori-kun, and I felt my place was always at his side, and his at mine...Now I’m here, and though our paths were set far apart from one another, it feels destined for us to remain together for life...I’m happy to call this place my home, with all of you...Thank you for being my family who I can celebrate my birthday with, and who in turn I’ll always cherish.”

“Aye, aye, your excellency!” Ibara exclaimed, holding up his tablet in an upward position. “A brilliant speech as always. I’ll have to do some editing before posting this, remove the part where you spoke about  _ that _ man, but the rest is suitable for posting onto our social media page. Fine words spoken by our fine leader, your fans will surely expand after seeing this~!”

“Yep! That sounds about right,” Hiyori agreed as he stood up, placing his glass on the table before him and crossing over to Ibara. “Now, enough unit managing, more family time, Ibara-kun.”

“Your highness? AH! Your highness?! Why are you lifting me? Ah, please, put me dooooown!”

“Yes, I will~ just wait until I settle you down, and stop kicking. Doesn’t it feel nice to be carried like a princess every once in a while?”

“Perhaps for his highness, but not me! Ah, your excellency, what are you—“

Nagisa pulled Ibara into his hands from Hiyori and sat the youngest member of their unit on his lap, snuggling his chin into the junior’s stiff shoulder. He proceeded to wrap his arms tightly around Ibara’s waist, not minding how straight Ibara’s back remained.

“Your excellency,” Ibara addressed, “what exactly are you doing?”

“We’re spending time together,” Hiyori answered in Nagisa’s place, “as a family. There’s no need for you to work today, it’s as much a holiday for Nagisa-kun as it is for you!”

“If you’re looking for work or a distraction though,” Jun intervened, “we could always have you open Nagi-senpai’s presents.”

“Oh?” Ibara suddenly softened at the idea, raising his hand into a salute. “Aye, aye! That seems suitable enough. Ah, I suppose his excellency’s lap is at least a fitting enough location since I will be his arms. Very well then, Jun, please go and fetch from the pile over there. Your highness, will you take pictures?”

“Mhm~ I was planning on it,” Hiyori confirmed, “what a cute scene! Happy birthday, Nagisa-kun!”

“Yeah, happy birthday, Nagi-senpai.”

“Congratulations for being another year older, your excellency!”

“...Mm, thank you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday, Nagisa!!! You entered my life and changed it, for better or for worse, but I've never found a better muse than you <3  
> twt: @nagisenpai


End file.
